What made Tahanan possible was a $65 million grant from Charles and Helen Schwab.8 The grant’s conditions were that the housing had to be built in under three years and for under $400,000 a unit. By using private financing, the project avoided the standards and rules that public money carries. That isn’t to say the political system in San Francisco was against the project. The Board of Supervisors approved a crucial lease to keep the development operating into the future. But private money was the secret sauce. It is damning that you can build affordable housing so much more cheaply and
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